Snakes alive: How to protect you and your pets

Slowly, Willie Stevens leads a black Labrador retriever into tall summer grass shaded only slightly by a decades-old oak tree. Stevens keeps tight hold of the leash as the lab bounds into the grass, head turning wildly and nose in the air.

Then there came a distinctive burring sound. A scary buzz like an angry hive of hornets. The dog, whose nose was now pointing down into the grass, began pulling hard against the leash to charge ahead.

But Stevens held firm and ever slower inches the dog nearer to a mottled brown and yellow patch of what looks for intents like a cow paddy.

Except this patch of what could be excrement is moving.

An arrow-shaped head can be made out swivelling directly toward the dog with a thin forked-tongue flickering in the light breeze. The tail end of what could now been seen as a viper continus its warning buzz.

With a yelp, the dog leaps into the air, landing with tail tucked between its hind legs and cowering against Stevens.

Stevens has just given the dog a brief electric zap using a shock collar in what turns out to be the first of several lessons that rattlesnakes are best left alone.

It's a lesson he repeats several times before the dog get it: Hear the buzz, run away.

Watching the scene was the other half of the Reno-based Get Rattled training team, John Potash, a reptile specialist who kept his eyes on the snake, the dog and Stevens.

There wasn't much danger to either dog or man.

Stevens has been training dogs since 1994. Potash has been working with snakes for 24 years and is licensed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

Together Stevens and Potash have 14 years of teaching an estimated 5,000 dogs what to do when they meet a rattlesnake.

Their pair were at Olive Hills Kennels near Knights Landing recently, working with as many as 50 dogs and their owners to be alert when out on a walk or hunting in forest or field.

The risk of a dog being bitten is very real, Potash explained, his eyes constantly shifting to where the 3 1/2-foot Mojave green rattlesnake was snuggled into the warm grass.

Summer is the season when rattlesnakes can crash pool parties and backyard barbecues, particularly since urbanization has put people and pets into greater contact with wildlife. California's drought merely increases the risk, which could lead to a fatal snake bite for dog or owner. And recent fires haven't helped either, driving snakes out of their natural habitat and into areas they would sooner avoid.

For dog lovers the risk is great, particularly those who use their dogs for hunting or on the farm. Rattlesnakes can regulate the venom they inject and a dog's natural curiosity can get the better of them, leading to a bite which doesn't look serious but can prove deadly, or cost thousands of dollars in surgery and hospitalization.

"I'd say that most dog owners don't really think about snake bites until they see a rattlesnake for themselves, in parks, or their own backyards, and then realize their dogs can be at risk," explained Potash as he watches Stevens lead another dog up to the snake, which seems to be waiting patiently.

Dogs can also be bitten when owners are not around so Potash and Stevens also show their owners what to look for if a dog shows signs of having been bitten.

"Dogs are usually bitten on their front limbs, neck, head, or face so look for bleeding and severe swelling in those areas," stated Potash. "A dog will often act as though something is bothering them by rubbing or licking the affected area. After some time, the venom may produce nausea, vomiting, and the dog can seem lethargic."

Potash has loved working with snakes from a young age. He has about 60 snakes at his home, and to his credit, notes he has never been bitten. "Frankly, I want to be 80 years old and say I've never been bit," he said. He's even got two rattlesnakes, one of which is 5 1/2 feet long, and now too big to use as a training snake.

He even has two rattle snakes, one of which is old and big and can't be used any longer as a "training snake" since it seems to know what to expect and "will just lay there" if it spots a dog, refusing to buzz its rattle.

Stevens owns four dogs and has also never been bitten — by a snake. His first bite came in Knights Landing when a dog abruptly turned and nipped his left hand, drawing a little blood and leading to a couple of bandages. Stevens blamed himself for not holding the leash correctly.

The Get Rattled duo started their enterprise as part of fundraising event in Reno in 2000. After a time they started the part-time business.

The pair now offers clinics across Nevada and Northern California with a future clinic coming to Sonoma County, offering dogs and their owners a bit of security in the event they hear that unwelcome buzz coming from a patch of grass while out taking a walk.

If nothing else, Potash notes, a dog can also act as a sentinel, warning its owner about impending danger. In effect, doing what dog do best, look after their families.